East Allegheny, Seton LaSalle girls clinch spots in PIAA Class 3A tournament

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 | 9:59 PM

A pair of Class 3A girls basketball teams clinched spots in the PIAA playoffs Wednesday based on results of WPIAL semifinal matchups at West Allegheny.

Seventh seed East Allegheny (13-11) and No. 8 Seton LaSalle (15-8) advanced with wins by No. 2 Mohawk over No. 3 Carlynton and No. 1 Beaver over No. 5 Avonworth through the WPIAL’s follow-the-winner format for determining additional state qualifiers. Six teams receive bids to states from girls Class 3A.

Teams in each of the six boys and six girls classifications earned automatic berths to states by advancing to the WPIAL semifinals.

Five teams will be a part of the PIAA brackets in boys Class 4A and 6A and girls Class 5A, and Wednesday results in those WPIAL tournaments kept six teams alive.

In boys Class 6A, No. 6 Bethel Park (14-9) and No. 9 Peters Township (14-10) remained in play based on wins by No. 3 Mt. Lebanon over No. 7 Central Catholic and No. 1 Butler over No. 4 Upper St. Clair in overtime.

Bethel Park needs Mt. Lebanon to win the WPIAL title Saturday evening at the Petersen Events Center, while Peter Township will be rooting for Butler to come out on top.

In boys Class 4A, No. 3 Quaker Valley (17-6) and No. 9 Ringgold (14-10) stayed alive for the fifth spot based on Wednesday’s semifinal wins by No. 6 Belle Vernon over No. 7 New Castle and No. 1 Highlands over No. 5 Blackhawk at North Allegheny.

The Quakers need a win by Belle Vernon in Saturday afternoon’s title contest, while the Rams are hoping for a win by Highlands.

Gateway (17-6), the No. 6 seed in girls Class 5A, as well as No. 8 Penn Hills (12-12), live to see another several days through the semifinal victories by No. 3 Trinity over No. 2 Woodland Hills and No. 1 Chartiers Valley over No. 5 Thomas Jefferson at Mt. Lebanon.

The Gators need Trinity to claim WPIAL gold Saturday afternoon, while Chartiers Valley has to win for the Indians to advance.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Bethel Park, East Allegheny, Gateway, Penn Hills, Peters Township, Quaker Valley, Ringgold, Seton La Salle